Not Peace but a Sword: The Great Chasm Between Christianity and Islam by Robert Spencer Page B

hint of Eucharistic theology. The philologist Christoph Luxenberg points out that Jesus prays that this Table from heaven be “a feast (‘ id ) for us and a sign ( ayah ) from thee” (5:114).”The Arabic word ‘ id, ” says Luxenberg, “borrowed from the Syriac, has been, in conformity with its Arabic meaning, correctly translated by ‘celebration’ [or ‘feast,’ in the liturgical sense].” 91 The Jesuit priest Samir Khalil Samir, a noted scholar of Islam, points out that “according to unanimous scholarly opinion [the Arabic word ‘ id ] is a borrowing from the Syriac ‘ ida, which signifies ‘Feast’ or ‘liturgical festival.’”
    Fr. Samir uses this to explain the nature of this strange “Table from heaven”: “This ma ’ ida [table] is thus defined by two terms: ‘ id and aya, a ‘Feast’ or ‘liturgical festival’ and a ‘sign.’ Is this not the most appropriate definition of the Eucharist of Christians, which is a festive celebration and a sacramental sign? Even more, it seems evident that in this passage we are dealing with a rather faithful description of Christian faith, otherwise not shared by Muslims.” 92
    Luxenberg further notes that the Qur’anic passage ends with a stern warning from Allah: “God said, ‘Verily I do send it down on you; whoso of you hereafter disbelieves, verily I shall chastise him with a chastisement wherewith I chastise no other being’” (5:115). He concludes: “Islam was not impressed by this divine injunction with its threats of the most severe punishments, not having grasped its significance. If the Muslim exegetes had understood these passages as the Koran intended them, there would have been a liturgy of the Last Supper in Islam.”
    A Jesus smorgasbord
    And so, although the Qur’an presents itself as the correction of the biblical record, in reality its teachings on Jesus are a curious amalgam of material from the New Testament and the writings of heretical and schismatic sects. In a certain sense, there is something for everyone: a bit of orthodox Christianity (the Virgin Birth, the idea of Jesus as the Word of God, even if improperly understood), a bit of Gnosticism (the illusory crucifixion), a bit of hyper-Arianism (the denial of Christ’s divinity) and Ebionism (the Qur’an calls Jesus “messiah” but rejects his divinity, as did the Judaizing Ebionite sect).
    Islamic theology draws out none of the implications or the orthodox Christian understandings of these various privileges, titles, and singularities. All are suborned to the overarching principle that Jesus is not the son of God; the Virgin Birth is not a manifestation of the singularity of Jesus but only of Allah’s power. Compare, for example, the words of the angel Gabriel to Mary in Luke’s Gospel and in the Qur’an:
Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there will be no end. (Luke 1:30-33)
Mary, God gives thee good tidings of a Word from Him whose name is Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary; high honoured shall he be in this world and the next, near stationed to God. He shall speak to men in the cradle, and of age, and righteous he shall be. (Qur'an 3:45-46)
    Although Jesus is to be “high honored” both “in this world and the next,” and even be “near stationed to God,” there is no hint in this that he is to be the son of the Most High, and even his title as Messiah doesn’t involve his attaining to the throne of his father David. Instead, “Messiah” in the Qur’an is essentially just a name, as it is indeed identified in this passage. Although the Qur’an frequently refers to Jesus as the Messiah (3:45, 4:157, 4:171-2, 5:17, 5:72, 5:75, 9:30-1), these